


Ghost

by Blackberreh



Series: Into the same black holes and black mistakes [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alive Obito, Excessive use of Kamui, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 01:13:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16776661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackberreh/pseuds/Blackberreh
Summary: He was supposed to be dead.Obito supposed that there must be something out there that thought he deserved a second chance.





	Ghost

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so here we have my first POSTED Naruto fanfic lol. I wrote... a lot, years and years ago before the series ended and they were bad and will never see the light of day. But the wife and I have been binging Naruto and Boruto and I fell in love with Obito so
> 
> Here's this. It has the potential to be more than a oneshot because I have more ideas that I want to expand on in the future, but yeah. I hope you guys enjoy xD

**Ghost**

* * *

He was supposed to be dead.

Obito woke to the falling of snow, the frozen particles of water slowly drifting down from the dismal, grey sky. The ground was hard beneath him, his body naked and aching, patchwork skin exposed to the elements. He didn’t move, didn’t blink, just stared up at the sky and wondered how it was he could still be there.

Unless… this was some kind of limbo?

It looked like a place that could be limbo.

Slowly, he looked around, unable to move his body quite yet. The snow had yet to settle on the ground, making the dirty stone wet and muddy. There were a few rock formations on the horizon, and little else. If this wasn’t limbo, then perhaps… Iwa or Kumo?

He hoped it was limbo. He was supposed to be dead. He  _ deserved _ to be dead.

Eventually, he managed to sit up. His body creaked and groaned, the forest within stirring sluggishly, and Obito let out a breath and pressed a frozen hand to his chest.

He could feel it, through the numbness. Faintly. A heartbeat.

Obito closed his eyes.  _ Why? Why was this… _

Soon, he was able to get to his feet. His depth perception was off, and his body swayed a little before he managed to get his proper footing on the slippery ground, and he gave another cursory glance around. Nothing but rock and dirt and grey, grey sky. There was a chance if he were to start walking, he would eventually come across a dwelling with people, but he still wasn’t fully convinced that he wasn’t in some sort of afterlife. 

He was able to activate his Mangekyou though. In both eyes. Ah, that was right, he…

Obito didn’t allow himself to dwell. He slipped into Kamui, moving on autopilot, and then appeared in one of the old safehouses he’d set up with the Akatsuki. It was just used as storage, mostly, a small hole in the wall somewhere in Ame, and he managed to pull on some clothes and gather up some weapons, and then-

And then? Now what? What could he do?

Gather information, he supposed.

* * *

  
  
  


The war was over. Had been for around a month at least, and everyone was starting to rebuild in a united world.

Naruto had… truly succeeded.

Obito was glad.

He drifted about in a haze, mind clouded over, never staying in one place for too long. He didn’t need to eat, rarely needed to sleep, so all he could do was just keep on moving.

He didn’t want this. He was supposed to be dead.

But something somewhere apparently thought he deserved a second chance. 

How utterly stupid.

* * *

  
  
  


Despite the fact he should be dead, he did nothing to remedy that. He thought about finishing the job Kaguya started, thought about making things right, but -

But, but,  _ but. _

He couldn’t bring himself to bring the kunai to his throat. 

* * *

  
  
  


He’d taken to covering his face again. A blank white mask with no defining features, hiding his scars and Sharingan eyes. He dressed in plain black robes, again no defining patterns or trim, and he became a ghost.

He moved around a lot. From Ame, to Iwa, to Suna. He avoided Konoha like the plague, something within violently rebelling at the thought of going ‘home’. Even if he was still alive, even if he had tried to atone for his actions with saving Kakashi and Naruto, even if….

He didn’t deserve to go home. Not after everything he’d done. 

_ He should be dead _ .

* * *

  
  
  


In the wake of the war, there was a lot of upheaval. A lot of destruction, a lot of death.

A lot of people trying to take advantage of the chaos.

He’d taken to taking care of those people when he happened across them on his wanderings. A group of bandits preying on a small town that was still reeling from the fighting came first. They’d been in the process of raiding the place when Obito came across it, and his body had just moved on its own. 

They were sporting slashed forehead protectors. Not just bandits, then. Missing nin. Kiri.

An old anger bubbled beneath the fog that still clouded Obito’s mind. Kiri.  _ Rin and Kakashi. _

It didn’t take long to kill them. He cut them down with a cold, ruthless efficiency. Maybe one or two got away, he wasn’t certain, but regardless of that, the town was now safe.

Oddly enough, the townsfolk had thanked him profusely and offered him a room at the local inn and a hot meal as payment for helping them. Obito almost refused - he didn’t need to sleep or eat, he needed to just  _ keep moving _ , he didn’t need their  _ kindness _ -

But the village elder who offered on behalf of everyone was just so earnest. So desperate to repay him for saving their lives.

Obito hesitated.

It was only the reasoning that those who escaped might come back that had him finally agreeing. Even still, he refused the food, because the town was poor enough, he didn’t need to take their supplies when it could go to others who needed it more. For the first time in he didn’t know how long, Obito lay on a bed that night and stared up at the ceiling for a long, long time, before he closed his eyes.

He didn’t sleep.

He tried not to think.

He was gone from the village before dawn. That morning when the village elder awoke, it was to several bags stuffed full of ryo and supplies that had once belonged to the Akatsuki.

Obito didn’t need any of it anymore.

* * *

  
  
  


Things like that happened a lot. Missing nin and those pathetic people trying to take advantage of those weaker than them. Obito found it was the least he could do, helping out those poor people as the ninja world as a whole tried to knit itself back together, and before he knew it, nearly a full six months had passed, and he’d begun to build a bit of a reputation.

They’d taken to calling him ‘Ghost’. With the way he could appear out of nowhere and phase through objects, rumours spread quick and far.

The name was unoriginal, but accurate he supposed. Maybe he was really a ghost, wandering around, trying to take care of unfinished business before finally moving on. Atoning for the sins of a past life.

It was ridiculous. 

* * *

  
  
  


The first time he encountered Konoha shinobi, Obito had frozen. Seeing the forehead protector on blatant display was enough to have his atrophied, withered stomach dropping out beneath him, and he couldn’t move for an embarrassing amount of time for a shinobi. He’d followed the sound of shouting and came upon a group of shinobi on what looked to be an escort mission, with a group of missing nin trying to get at the noble they were escorting. It wasn’t any surprise the shinobi were going on missions so far from Konoha so soon after a war, the village still needed to bring in money after all, but still-

Seeing that symbol, it had been enough to make him freeze. 

Once he had proper control of his body once again, Obito had stepped in. The missing nin had bounties on their head and Obito had been tracking them for a while already, so he wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity that had been handed to him. Not while they were already distracted.

He came in, phasing through a surprised Leaf ninja and catching the kunai the missing nin was about to get them with. The nin fell in a spray of blood, and Obito was moving on in an instant, another two falling as Obito took them down with ease.

The last two turned their attention from the Leaf ninja and fixated on him - the bigger threat that had made itself known. One went through the motions of a water jutsu, but Obito didn’t let him finished, moving faster than they could react. Their throat slit, they fell to join their brethren, and Obito turned to the last one, bloody kunai dripping red to the grass below.

“You’re the - you’re the Ghost-” The shinobi gasped and staggered back, frozen under the weight of killing intent that Obito leveled on them.

Obito didn’t speak or acknowledge them in any way. He simply jumped forwards, knocked aside the shinobi's weak counterattack, and soon they were dead on the ground as well.

Now he was alone with a three man team of Konoha jounin, and a simpering noble who was hiding behind one of them.

“You-”

Obito raised his head and stared at them, lips pressed into a taut line behind his mask. The jounin who’d spoken was one he didn’t recognise, young and a little wild eyed, and staring at Obito with deserved wariness. “Thanks for that. You didn’t need to help.”

After a moment, Obito inclined his head and shifted his gaze to the bodies of the fallen missing nin. He activated Kamui and dumped the bodies into the pocket dimension, ignoring the sucked in breath from the Leaf Shinobi. The only words he spoke to them were, “I was after the bounty on their head. Had I not interfered, I’m sure you would have been fine, anyway.”

And then he was gone, slinking off to collect their bounties.

The fog in his mind cleared, just a bit. 

* * *

  
  
  


Word reached him that Kakashi Hatake had been made the Hokage, and Obito hadn’t been prepared for the stabbing pain that appeared in his chest at the news.

Memories of a long time past. His words, his ideals, his  _ goals _ \- he’d wanted so badly to become Hokage, so everyone would acknowledge him, so he could  _ show _ everyone just how great he could be, just how much good he could do-

And now, Kakashi was Hokage. 

Obito let out a long, slow breath. He continued on, where he’d stopped to hear a group of women gossiping in the marketplace on his way to collect a bounty, and their words rang in his ears. The village was close to the Land of Fire’s border, closer than he had been in years, and he wasn’t sure he regretted getting this close or not.

_ Kakashi was Hokage _ .

It made sense, he supposed. Kakashi was one of the best the Hidden Leaf had, after all. Even if he no longer had the Sharingan. Naruto was still too young to take the mantle, and there were few others that Obito could name to fill in the role as well. So… Kakashi it was.

Even if he’d never wished to be Hokage, Obito knew that… he would be a great one.

It hurt, a little. Half-remembered declarations of being Hokage rang in his ears. His rival turned friend turned bitter enemy turned  _ something _ was now fulfilling the role of his very first dream.

But the hurt died as soon as it appeared. Because really, there was no-one more suited to the roll than Kakashi.

Rin would be proud of him. And so was Obito.

_ I… I want to see him again. _

* * *

  
  
  


He noticed the Leaf Ninja before they noticed him, but it was only by a second. Blinding orange jumpsuit, a beacon of blond hair - oh yes, this was a very recognisable ninja, and Obito felt his heart in his throat, because of course it had to be one of the few ninja capable of figuring out who he was.

Obito wasn’t  _ ready  _ for that. He didn’t think he ever would be.

“Hey! Hey, help me out here!”

Obito was very tempted to leave Naruto dangling where he was over the cliff edge. He was a little too far from the sheer surface, making him unable to cling to it with chakra, and the rope was straining under his weight - ready to snap, if Obito didn’t move soon enough.

Obito was really, really tempted to leave him. It wasn’t like Naruto would die from the fall after all, the jinchuuriki was a bit like a cockroach. 

“Oh come on! Don’t just stand there, the rope’s - AHH-”

Curse his bleeding heart.

Obito’s Kamui dumped Naruto right before him on the cliff edge, and the young man scrambled for purchase, face pale and eyes wide from the fall, and it took him a few seconds to realise he was on solid ground. A loud, despairing groan left the boy and he sat back on his heels, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Hey thanks, man. That would have been a nasty fall, y’know. Oh man I can’t believe I got separated from Captain Yamato, he’s gonna kill me…”   
Obito observed him silently for a moment, feeling his heart racing in his chest. This wasn’t a good idea, he should have just let the boy drop.

He needed to go.

Without a word, he turned on his heel, prepared to use Kamui to flee and abandon the bounty he’d been after, but behind him he heard Naruto stagger to his feet and shout, “Hey, wait! Wait a sec!”   
Obito stopped. He shouldn’t have. He really, really  _ shouldn’t _ have.

He turned to look over his shoulder at the blond.

Naruto was squinting at him, hands held loosely at his sides, by all appearances looking relaxed and unassuming. But despite the front Naruto put on, he was a shinobi through and through, and those blue eyes were very, very  _ knowing. _

Obito despaired, because he had a feeling his peaceful life of nothingness and killing missing nin was coming to an end. 

“You’re the Ghost, right?” Naruto looked a little queasy saying that, and Obito remained still. “We’ve been looking for you! Kakashi-sensei’s really interested in the rumours we’ve been hearing - and oh man, I’ve heard a lot of really cool things about you, like that teleportation jutsu thing you just did, it’s really awesome y’know!”

Still, Obito said nothing. He was frozen. They had been  _ looking _ for him?

He needed to go.  _ Now. _

Kamui activated, and Obito heard Naruto shout, “Hey, wait!” and reach out, but it was too late.

Within Kamui’s dimension, Obito slumped against one of the pillars, and then slowly sank to the ground. His gloved hands reached up and struggled to undo his mask, until finally he unclasped it and threw it to the ground, and with a low groan he pressed his fingers to his burning eyes, a shuddering breath escaping him.

Fuck. It looked like he was going to need to lay low for now. For Sage knows how long. He couldn’t…

He couldn’t face Kakashi. Not yet. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to.

_ What a coward _ . A memory, a voice, sneering at him.  _ Crybaby _ .

Obito let out a weak laugh and pressed his fingers harder to his burning eyes. Crybaby indeed.

The fog in his mind was almost gone.

* * *

  
  
  


He took a few hours to calm himself. He knew he should have stayed out of things. Kept hidden. Not complete the contract and reap the bounty’s rewards, but he’d already tracked down the missing nins and the stolen scroll’s location, and leaving things off there would have been such a waste of time-

He reasoned he’d be in and out with the criminal’s head and the missing scroll before any hint of Naruto’s team showed up. Just a quick stab and grab. Simple.

He arrived in the cave - and damn if  _ that _ didn’t ignite a spark of anxiety in his belly - and heard the sounds of combat - a girl’s frantic yells, the sound of rumbling that would have made Obito throw up had he eaten anything recently -

He wasn’t sure what spurred him into entering the cave. The mountain was shaking, dust and pebbles falling from the ceiling, and Obito kept Kamui active so anything that hit him would just pass through because he would  _ never be trapped under rock not again never again but he had to help them- _

There was the pink haired girl. Sakura. She’d raised hell apparently, the missing nin was a beaten mass of blood and flesh a little ways off, and the girl was running glowing green hands over another of her teammates - who appeared to have been struck in the head by a falling rock.

Obito felt ill. His hands shook. He staggered forwards, just as the tunnel behind him collapsed, and all he could remember was  _ blackness and no air and crushing pain _ -

A pained yelp pulled him from his head. A falling rock had struck Sakura’s shoulder from where she shielded her companion from falling debris. Another larger piece dislodged from the ceiling, and Obito jolted forwards, Mangekyou spinning wildly, and it was with a great pull of chakra that he pulled them all into Kamui’s pocket dimension.

It was still. Silent.

Obito collapsed against a pillar, panting with a mix of panic and exhaustion as he struggled to shove old, painful memories deep into the back of his mind. It’s alright - he wouldn’t have been at risk, but -  _ fuck, _ Sakura and her teammate had been there, and though they were older than he and Kakashi and Rin had been, they were still kids, still could have been trapped-

“Hey.”

Obito’s head snapped up, his eyes meeting the wide, wary green of Sakura’s. She was shaken, but had quickly gone back to healing her teammate - Sai, if Obito recalled correctly - despite her own injuries. Selfless down to the core, this one was. Just like Naruto.

Obito wheezed out a shaky laugh. His eyes burned, and he blinked them a few times. He rasped out, “I thought Naruto was the one who drew trouble to him like a magnet. It seems the same holds true for his teammates.”

Sakura bit her lip, her eyes lighting up. “It… really is you, then. Obito.”

Obito’s shoulders slumped. After a moment, he sunk down the pillar to the ground, mimicking the same pose he’d held just a few hours earlier.

By the Sage, he was tired. But despite that, his mind was wondrously, startlingly clear.

The fog was gone. 

“Yeah.” He breathed. Reached up to tug at his mask, too tired to keep up the farce. The mask clattered to the ground, and he met her eyes. “It’s me.”

She let out a shallow breath, surprise on her stricken face. After a moment, all she managed to get out was “ _ How _ ? Kakashi, Naruto, they… you  _ died _ . There was nothing left of you.”

He rolled his shoulders in a shrug, and Obito let out a hollow laugh.

_ I should be dead. But I’m not. _

“I don’t know how I’m alive,” he said, averting his eyes. “But here I am. Guessed something thought I deserved to keep living.”

Sakura stared at him, digesting his words. She then removed her hands from Sai’s prone form, likely finished healing him, and started on herself, and as she healed she spoke. “We received word from one of our squads a few months back. That they were helped out on their mission by a shinobi that no attack could land a solid hit on. We followed rumours after that, and Kakashi-sensei - the Hokage thought that it might…”

“Might be me.” Obito let out another shallow laugh, his stomach rolling. “Well. He was right. How’d you know to find me here?”

Sakura let out a soft huff. “We asked around and found the man who contracted you to retrieve a scroll. It was simple enough to track you down, but I never thought we’d get to the thief before you…”

He snorted at that. He wasn’t going to admit that he’d been too busy staving off a panic attack after rescuing her bumbling teammate from an embarrassing nose-dive down a cliff.

Sakura shook herself. “Anyway. We’re under orders to talk to you, confirm your identity, and bring you back to Konoha if we can.” She hesitated, lips pursed. “Will you come back willingly?”

Ah. She was to use force then, if he said no. Obito’s lips pulled into a wry smile and he closed his eyes, unconcerned. “Konoha won’t be happy to see me. Not after what I’ve done. Am I to stand trial for my crimes?”

“Kakashi-sensei wants to talk to you.” Was all she answered with. Obito opened his eyes and met her gaze, quirking an eyebrow. “There will likely be a trial, yeah. But Kakashi… he wants to speak to you. More than anything. He didn’t  _ say _ that, exactly, but… his real thoughts are obvious.”

Obito let out a weak chuckle. “He always was embarrassingly easy to read. Even with that mask.”

“It’s his eyes,” Sakura mused, a small smile curling her lips. “It’s not that obvious to others, but to those that know him... “

Obito hummed, and for the first time in a long time, after coming down from the stress and panic and able to think clearly without any fog clouding his mind, he felt… at ease.

And like he knew what to do.

“I won’t come back with you.” He said. Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but Obito cut her off. “Not yet. I’ll take you and your team back, though.”

Sakura grudgingly didn’t protest, seemingly knowing that that was the best she was going to get. She nodded, and Obito reluctantly got to his feet.

Best keep moving.

* * *

  
  
  


Obito picked up Sakura’s teammates from their rendezvous point. Luckily, they had been scheduled to meet not too long from that time (“Good thing we’re going now, otherwise Naruto would go off on his own and insist on looking for us.” Sakura sighed, but there was a soft smile on her face that had Obito thinking of him and Rin and Kakashi and their team and their  _ failure _ -)

“Hey! It is you!” Naruto squawked when he appeared before them, his finger pointing accusingly. Obito barely refrained from rolling his eyes, merely inclined his head. “How did you survi-”

“I have Sakura and Sai within Kamui.” Obito cut him off. Immediately, both Naruto and the one he recognised as Yamato tensed up, and he raised a placating hand. “They are safe, I don’t wish you or them any harm. I’m merely going to take you all to Konoha.”

Naruto blinked, and instantly relaxed with a grin (stupid kid, too blindly trusting, what if he was lying  _ what if he was going to kill them _ ) and said, “Oh, great! This was easier than I thought it would be!”

Yamato stepped forwards, expression eerily blank, eyes full of mistrust. Obito couldn’t blame him for that. “You’re coming back with us to Konoha, then?”

Obito hesitated. His heart gave a sudden thump. “... I will be escorting you there. I-”  _ I’m not ready to see Kakashi. Not yet. _ “I will meet with Kakashi soon.”

Yamato’s eyes narrowed and Naruto groaned. “Oh come on! Kakashi-sensei’s been waiting to talk with you for months, y’know! If you’re taking us back then you may as well-”

Obito didn’t give him time to finish, simply activated Kamui and transported them to its dimension.

He discovered he felt a small amount of glee cutting Naruto off like that.

* * *

  
  
  


He dumped them right outside the Hokage administrative building. He didn’t give them any time for goodbyes, or any chance to try and cajole him into staying and meeting with the Hokage, and instead disappeared back into Kamui to just-

Give himself some time to breathe.

Kakashi had been  _ right there _ . Up in the Hokage building. He’d only been there for a brief few seconds, but it was enough to drink in a glimpse of the village he’d once called home, to take in the Hokage monument and his sensei’s carved face, to sense Kakashi’s chakra  _ so fucking close _ -

A part of him had been afraid, being back there. Afraid that all of the bitterness and hatred that he’d been feeling for so, so long would come back. Afraid that if he had returned, so too would the want and desire to continue with Madara’s plan. To try again. To destroy  _ everything _ .

But he hadn’t. Instead, all he’d felt was exhaustion and sadness.

And the desire to see Kakashi. To talk to him. Apologise. To beg his forgiveness, even though he didn’t deserve such a thing.

_ He was supposed to die. _

He wasn’t sure how long he wallowed within the Kamui dimension. He spent time pacing back and forth, sitting and staring at nothing, thinking and trying not to think at all. As more time passed, his chest grew tighter and the need to do  _ something _ instead of just sit there and stagnate grew and grew, the urge becoming positively  _ overwhelming  _ and-

Suddenly, his mask was back in place (he couldn’t face him without it,  _ couldn’t _ ) and with a burst of chakra, and he was in the Hokage’s office, standing right before Kakashi.

The sun had set, by this point. The Hokage office was brightly lit, visible, and Kakashi was sitting behind a desk laden with paperwork - and staring at Obito with wide eyes.

Obito swallowed. He held his hands still by his side, body held in as unthreatening a manner as possible. He didn’t have any weapons on him, though Kakashi couldn’t know that, and truly, he could still use his sharingan. He could still fight, even without weapons.

Slowly, he raised his hands up. Several ANBU appeared, weapons drawn, ready to fight, but Obito only had eyes for Kakashi.

And he was so easy to read. He could see the surprise in those wide, dark eyes. The conflicting anger, and happiness. Regret. And hope.

“Obito.” He breathed. It wasn’t a question, but a confirmation.

Obito nodded anyway, his voice rough when he said, “Kakashi. You wanted to see me?”

His former teammate slowly stood up from behind the desk. The ANBU shifted subtly in accordance to the Hokage’s movements - he noticed a gesture of his hands, and the ANBU clearly hesitated, before they sheathed their weapons and disappeared back to where they had been hiding before, giving them the illusion of solitude.

That was bold of Kakashi. Like he knew Obito wouldn’t attack. Like he was so certain.

He stepped around the desk, and Obito sucked in a breath. Watched as he walked closer, looking odd and different but  _ good  _ and  _ alive _ in his Hokage robes. He moved with a hesitance and a kind of discomfort, either un-used to moving in the clothing or hesitant to actually reach Obito, but eventually he was standing before him. Staring at him with those dark, conflicting eyes.

Obito remained still.

“It’s really you?”

Obito swallowed, and slowly brought his hands up. Pulled down his hood, revealing his messy white hair - longer than it had been when he was supposed to have died. His hands hesitated on his mask, a breath too long, because Kakashi’s hands twitched, like he wanted to reach up and take the mask off for him-

Obito curled the fingers around the edges of the mask and pulled it off, and allowed it to slip through his fingers and clatter to the floor.

And that was the last barrier he had left gone. Now he was here, face to face with what was once his greatest source of hatred, misplaced as it was. Kakashi stared at him, eyes roving over his scarred face, and his hands twitched again. Like he wanted to touch.  _ To make sure _ .

“Yeah.” Obito said. Whether he was to be tried and imprisoned or executed, whatever was to come, he was here. And he wasn’t going anywhere now.

It was time to own up to everything he’d done. He wasn’t supposed to be alive. Maybe, the only reason he  _ was _ alive was for this very thing. For judgement to be passed on him, a punishment inflicted.

Whatever was to come… he would accept it. 

He smiled at his once rival, his maybe friend, his bitter enemy, his  _ something.  _ “Yeah. It’s me.”

**Author's Note:**

> If ya wanna see more of my art and shiz, follow me on tumblr~ http://blackberreh-art.tumblr.com/


End file.
